'Come From Away' honors the best of humanity in the worst of times

Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s “Come From Away” has landed on the Asolo Rep stage. This musical dramatizes the real-life events of “Operation Yellow Ribbon” after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 

Death from above was now a ubiquitous possibility in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Administration responded by diverting dozens of incoming flights. Thirty-eight planes wound up in a huge airport in the tiny, island town of Gander, Newfoundland. 

The townsfolk had no advance warning. The 7,000 passengers were stuck inside their planes for hours. When they finally got off, they got the bad news. Then what?

If you’ve seen a play or a musical in your life, you know what to expect. The citizens of Gander will embrace the stranded passengers. (They do and it’s touching.) But the show’s not just a series of warm-and-fuzzy Hallmark moments. It celebrates Gander’s radical empathy. 

But it also faces the harsh, new, post-9/11 reality. Aside from hugging, sharing and learning, the villagers and travelers are forced to improvise solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. 

What do they come up with? The musical shows you. Along with character studies of the problem solvers. 

“Come From Away” demonstrates Toynbee’s theory of “challenge and response.” It’s a story of grace under pressure. Actually, it’s many stories — with no main character. The musical weaves their narratives together. The result defies any short, sharp summary. But here goes …

The “Kevins” (Will Branner and Zummy Mohammed), are a gay couple whose bond starts to break in the crisis; Beverly Bass (Aléna Watters) is American Airlines’ first female captain. Flying is her first love — and terrorists turned planes into flying bombs. It breaks her heart. 

Beulah (Diana DiMarzio) is a teacher who converts her school into a makeshift hostel. Janice (Sara Esty) is a rookie local TV reporter forced to cover a lifetime of news in five days. Claude (Aaron Kaburick) is Gander’s quietly heroic mayor — who’s suddenly responsible for 7,000 unexpected guests.  

Hannah (Carla Woods) is a mother desperate to reach her firefighter son in New York City. Ali (Mohammed) is a Muslim passenger who’s suddenly the scary Other. 

Nick (Erick Pinnick) and Diane (Michelle Barber) are a British man and a Texan woman who find unexpected romance. Bonnie (E.J. Zimmerman) is an animal shelter worker who sneaks into the airplanes’ cargo holds to care for forgotten pets. These aren’t the only characters. It’s a true ensemble production. There are no lead characters; the 12 actors play multiple roles. They’re all at the top of their game.

While the passengers are grounded, the musical moves. Asolo Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein directs with a hard-charging velocity. Just like the characters, you’re swept up in the mad events. While the characters might be confused, you aren’t. Rothstein always keeps the action clear.

Adam Koch’s multilayered set is a bravura display of inventive, imaginative world-building. Before the musical opens, it’s a working bar where Asolo Rep audience members can order a Canadian brew. 

After that, it’s an airplane interior, a school, a bar — you name it. The rotating stage cleverly evokes the relentless churn of events. Greg Emetaz’ projections add to the sensory overload with snippets of news media mania.

Angela Steiner’s music direction is an uplifting joy. She’s got great material to work with. The musical’s songs pulse with Celtic-folk energy, ensemble drive and heartfelt intimacy. 

Highlights include the propulsive “Welcome to the Rock,” the poignant “Me and the Sky” and the devastating yet hopeful “Prayer,” an anthem of communal solidarity. 

A sizzling Celtic band fills the air with these songs. (Eight musicians; Steiner’s one of them.) They’re usually backstage, but stroll into sight every now and then.

Kelli Foster Warder’s kinetic choreography is adrenaline-fueled and inventive. It’s dance as characterization. You can tell who the characters are by how they move.

Tracy Dorman’s mercurial costume changes are deceptively simple — a jacket swapped, a scarf added, a shirt reversed — but they allow actors to transform from townspeople to passengers in the blink of an eye.

That’s the flight crew behind this great show. It’s a trip well worth taking. And far more than empty entertainment.

“Come from Away” is a crowd-pleaser. But it doesn’t pander. While they based their script on a true story, the musical’s creators didn’t have to stay true to that story. Sankoff and Hein might have been tempted to airbrush out the harsh details of the post-9/11 world — the blood drops of pain, trauma and loss. They didn’t. 

Not every character gets a happy ending; some of their worst fears come true. That’s the reality of those days. The script reflects it.

The musical acknowledges the terror, xenophobia, isolation and global fracture of 9/11. But it also insists that human beings can meet the challenge of a crisis — not with grand gestures, but with casseroles, spare bed linens, borrowed clothes and unasked-for kindness.

The terrorist attacks on 9/11 was a dose of bad medicine. “Come From Away” isn’t a spoonful of sugar disguising the nasty taste. It celebrates the everyday heroes of that lousy day. It doesn’t ignore the pain of that day. The musical’s entertaining. But it’s also honest.

That’s the highest compliment I can give.